Trump tells inner circle Musk is on his way out
Elon Musk will step back amid increasing concern about the world’s richest man becoming a liability to the Trump administration.
Source: Fox News
Politico reports Elon Musk will pull back in coming weeks from his unofficial role as a key adviser to US President Donald Trump and focus more on his businesses –which are also taking a hit.
One source told Politico that Musk was likely to retain an informal role at the White House and remain an occasional face around the grounds.
Musk’s looming retreat comes as White House insiders have become frustrated with his “unpredictability” and an increasing view of him as a political liability.
This was highlighted when Musk suffered a massive personal defeat on Tuesday (local time) after pouring $US33 million ($53 million) into a Supreme Court election and watching his conservative candidate lose.
Wisconsin voters instead elected Democrat-backed Susan Crawford, maintaining the court’s 4-3 liberal majority in a setback for Musk and Trump.
The election was widely seen as an early referendum on Trump’s presidency, and the campaign easily became the most expensive judicial contest in US history with candidates spending more than $US90 million ($143 million).
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Musk’s America PAC (Political Action Committee) also offered $50 to voters to “snap a picture” at a voting location with a photo of conservative Brad Schimel.
Crawford, a county judge, defeated Schimel, a former Republican state attorney-general and also a county judge.
Crawford said she had taken on the world’s richest man and won, declaring: “Our courts are not for sale.”
She said Wisconsin voters had “fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court, and Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price”.
In a further blow to Musk, sales of Teslas plunged 13 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, its largest drop, as backlash and attacks on the cars widen.
Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 vehicles globally from January to March, a fall from 387,000 last year.
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Trump did not comment on the court election in a social media post, instead celebrating the victory of a separate Wisconsin ballot measure on tougher voter identification.
Nationally, Democrats have claimed victory, calling the Wisconsin result one step towards their goal of reclaiming the House of Representatives in 2026.
“The people of Wisconsin squarely rejected the influence of Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and billionaire special interests,” Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said.
In another test of Trump’s popularity, Florida Republicans Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis won special elections to fill US House vacancies created by Trump’s administration picks Michael Waltz and Matt Gaetz. But their Democratic challengers halved the 30-odd point margins their party won by in November.
The victories give Republicans a House majority of 220-213.
Wisconsin’s top court is likely to issue critical rulings on voting rights and election rules before the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race, when the state is expected to remain a central battleground.
Musk, whose so-called Department of Government Efficiency is overseeing Trump’s unprecedented cost-cutting campaign at the federal government, became a central figure in the race.
He held a rally on Sunday night where his main political action committee handed out $US1 million cheques to two voters.
The Tesla CEO, who spent more than $US250 million to help Trump win election in November, also promised to pay volunteers $US20 for every voter they recruited before the election.
Musk had said “the future of Western civilisation” was at stake because the court might potentially rule on redrawing election maps, which could tip the balance in the closely divided US House.
